More and more businesses in all industries are discovering the many benefits of the cloud. After businesses discover that cloud IT services are low cost, highly scalable, secure and easy to set up and use, there’s no turning back. Until recently, however, a few industries had been resistant to adopting cloud technologies because of concerns about security and data privacy.
Given that new technology has enabled the cloud to be just about as secure as most private networks, it’s not too surprising to learn that 87% of investment management firms contacted in a late 2012 survey by Eze Castle reported they were either currently using or planning to use some form of cloud services in the near future.
Study methodology
Eze Castle contacted 145 financial firms in undertaking this survey, and 125 firms fully completed the questionnaire. Among these 125 firms, 65% self-identified as investment management firms. An additional 16% identified as hedge funds, another 16% as private equity firms and 4% as fund-of-funds. The size of the firms surveyed ranged from an AUM of less than $100 million to an AUM of over $1 billion.
Results of the investment industry cloud survey
Among the 125 firms completing Eze Castle’s survey, 79% said that they were currently using the cloud. On the question of how they were currently utilizing cloud services (multiple responses were allowed), 65% indicated they used the cloud for basic business or office functionality. This is a popular trend for investment firms of all kinds, particularly new companies. Basic office functions available through the cloud include email, file services, storage, mobile apps and more. When working in the cloud, it’s also very easy to scale up and add additional resources including storage space, computing power and networking power as needed (without high up-front capital costs)
The survey also highlighted that firms of all sizes in the investment industry are using the cloud for basic business/office functions. Among firms managing assets less than $250 million, 68% currently leverage the cloud for basic business or office functions. Just over 77% of firms with an AUM between $250 and $749 million are also using the cloud for office functions, as are 61% of firms with assets greater than $750 million.
